The next half a day was a blur as more and more data from the drones started to filter in, and the Hunters camp got a good picture of the situation across this world.
Compared to the rest of the planet, the torrential rains that had reshaped most of the continent that they were on were only a minor inconvenience. One continent was completely barren after the Orbital Strike, and earthquakes had destroyed everything that might have survived the initial blast.
But the two continents nearest to it had been obliterated by a kilometre-high tidal wave caused by the shifting tectonic plate. Only the intense heat of the blast lingering in the upper atmosphere had saved this continent from the same fate by vaporizing much of the water.
So, instead of crushing waves, they got crushing rain, which the rest of the planet was soon to receive once the upper atmosphere cooled.
The side effects intrigued Nico.
"I don't think that they had ever used that weapon before. Or at least they don't use it enough to consider refining it. The Orbital Lance does superheat the atmosphere around it and burn off a portion, but the beam is too stable to cause that kind of widespread global warming.
If this sensor data is right, we can expect the temperatures to climb by over ten degrees Celcius overnight when the upper atmospheric winds carry the remaining heat here. That is compared to the currently elevated temperature, not the baseline from two days ago."
Khan nodded in understanding. "About all these new plants. They're Myceloid in origin, aren't they?"
Max and Nico both sighed in unison.
"Yes, they are Myceloid, the same as what they have been cooking for meals. The whole continent has been remade with Myceloid food products in the aftermath of the flooding. It seems that all they needed was a lot of water and the native vegetation to be destroyed, and they would sprout and fill in the gaps.
Fortunately, while they are genetically similar, it doesn't appear that the spores from the plants are capable of evolving into the Myceloids themselves.
It was one of the first concerns that we had for a fungal species since they can often take on many appearances without a significant change to their internal structure."
Khan chuckled at that comment. "I would say that at least they're not cannibals, but they are. We've seen them eat the hearts of fallen challengers."
Max looked over the logs and then brought up another file for them to consider.
"Look at this. The air around the thicker new forests is changing. It looks like they're purifying the air and taking in a massive amount of carbon dioxide at the moment. Not only that, but they are able to absorb other nutrients from the air.
If they're really not linked to the intelligent Myceloid species, I think that we might have a rather valuable new commodity on our hands." He suggested.
Nico shook her head. "I don't think that will be possible. Check out this sensor feed. The blooms are hosts for a species of non-sentient quadrupeds that look particularly violent. It seems that they are the pollinators for the forests, and they're definitely not a species that the Alliance would gladly welcome onto their peace-loving planets."
Khan laughed at the thought of those things being let loose on a planet as the pollinators for a new environmentally friendly plant. They seemed to be all teeth and attacked anything that moved, often including each other. They would be a disaster anywhere they existed, even here, once they started to spread out.
"I wonder how the Myceloids deal with them? Do they make them pets or possibly food? They look like they've got a lot of meat on them. Or perhaps this is just the infant stage, and they grow into large beasts of some sort." Khan mused.
Nico laughed. "Can you imagine trying to get an oxen harness on one of those things to pull a wagon? Or perhaps we could attach them to a dog sled and let them pull gear that way?"
The joking continued as they analyzed the changes to the planet, and then just after the sun came up the next morning, the Drones that they sent into low orbit noticed something very interesting above the planet as well as on it.
It wasn't the target of the sensors, but Max turned a Drone to get a better look when he saw what looked like worked metal with rivets in it floating in orbit among the massive amount of debris.
That was not how most species made their space vessels, so it caught his attention, and the more that the Drone scanned it, the more clear it became that one of the destroyed ships over the planet was filled with Myceloids at the time of destruction.
There were traces of their blood on some of the debris, along with weapons similar to the ones they were using on the planet.
What wasn't clear was who they were fighting and why the surface had taken such a punishment that they would risk breaking it apart.
"Well, that's one mystery down. If we examine the spread of the new plants and the strange pollinator species, we can see that it would have started over the dead continent and then spread with the rotation.
In my estimation, that implies that the Myceloid ship was a Colony ship, and the destruction of their vessel sent the spores to the surface. With that in mind, the odds are good that we will see more species of both flora and fauna that are related to them, and this planet will start adapting to the Myceliods' natural habitat." Max informed the others.
"Then this really is a game preserve now. It might not have been before, but this world has definitely just been colonized and terraformed by the Myceloids. Possibly unintentionally or against their will, but it is adapting to them all the same." Khan agreed.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm If someone tried to terraform a contested planet, Alliance law was clear. Much more aggressive defensive measures were allowed, and it could be viewed as an act of war. For the Hunters, that meant that the limits on their agreement with the Alliance would loosen, and they could start blocking the inspectors from the area for their own safety.
It was a big win for all parties involved.
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